One Of Those Nights

There are times when life just cannot get any better. Tonight is one of those. With the house settling down to slumber I bid goodbye to eldest daughter and set youngest grand to sleep with her favorite companion Snickers. Cheryl has headed her head for the shed and I will do likewise soon. Thank you Lord! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Geese Are Winging North!

Indeed, the geese are winging their way north out here on the Great American Desert! We are moving forward with construction although it does seem as though the slope is more than a little steep at times. Deadlines were set the past two weeks for the crew doing the exterior finishing work. Needless to say they have let us down, again. I'm learning and relearning the patience lesson that it seems is so difficult for me to ingrain. I continue in prayer for patience as the days grow warmer. That is a wonderful blessing we are enjoying day by day. There are predictions of more snow for the first of the week. At the present time I can only say, "I would like for it to miss us by a lot!" The ground surrounding the project site is all loose fill and clumps of earth that become impossible to deal with when wet. I know, one day the grass will grow, the gravel will be firmly packed in parking areas and I'll be able to see solidity evidenced on the turf. Until that time we will slog around in the mud and have the very ground beneath our feet attempting to suck our shoes off! One would not think there would be so many details. The further we have gotten down this road the more bumps we have encountered. It's quite a bit easier on two wheels when all one must battle are the wind, the road, weather and fatigue. That is a piece of cake compared to this. Five thousand miles in ten days, no problem! Rain for three days in a row while trying to put miles behind us? No problem! But these inches and feet of progress that seem to be going as slowly as "molasses" in January. Lord help me, I'm trying. Now all I need do is find mental, physical, and emotional energy to make it the rest of the way up this hill. When that time comes I'll have the vehicles shining on the driveway, my hammock swinging in the sunshine and a cold glass of lemonade awaiting me on the porch. The grand piano will be in her new setting, the organ will be firmly ensconced where the speakers can pound out hymns that I love, and the digital recording studio will be up and running. Now, about that new Windows Vista. I do believe I'll be able to traverse all of these roads before MS gets the new operating system up and running. Well, to be fair, I haven't installed it yet on the build that is hanging fire in the shop. I was waiting for the SP1 for Vista to become available. Well, this is the time, and I have yet to hear one encouraging word(I live where there is never supposed to be a discouraging word)from the computing community. Oh, well, I have a clean copy of UBUNTU just to the right of centerstage. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

The Season Opener!

What an absolutely glorious day on the Great American Desert. Praise the Lord! This was a good one. I was off to the project to meet with our plumber before noon. About two hours later I was returning home and ready to scoot! I had properly prepared for the day by starting the battery charger on Monday, turning the engine over on Tuesday, and checking levels and pressures on Wednesday. The ultra was a tad bit reluctant following the winter's slumber, but finally agreed to rise to the occasion and enjoy the sunshine. Cheryl was not quite in the spirit so I gave her a towel to clean the seat and the rest is now history. The cockles of my heart were glowing bright as I snapped a few pictures before our departure on the first adventure of the season. All the way to Aurora, SD to my sister-in-laws home. I proceeded to get her washer and drier up and running in addition to giving a few unrequested suggestions on how to rid her lawn of the enormous amount of dog doo left by the previous denizens of her ancestral home. Life could not have felt a whole lot better than rolling towards home after doing our good deed for the day. My honey on the back and the wind in my face relieved a lot of built up stress acquired during the long, dark days of winter. Our eldest daughter shared dinner with us this evening and between the two of them they managed to amuse me for several hours discussing stuff that has to do with life. I give thanks to God for days like this and pray that there are many more in the not too far distant future. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Bread & Buns

I am a fan of food! I enjoy cooking, eating, and sharing it with others. In fact some might say that food holds an unnatural appeal for me. One of my favorite foods is the sandwich in all creative varieties. Tonight I was pondering a late evening snack and the dilemma of which bread to choose plagued my mind for about thirty seconds. You see, I think of bread as a meal in itself. Bread is a passion that I contend with on a daily basis. There are so many kinds of bread available that it becomes a chore just to choose. The baguette at the back of the pictures is probably over two years old and still looks as fresh as the day I purchased it. I'm certain it was at least a day old when I acquired it, and it could probably be eaten today with a bit of crunching. Our local Walmart does french bread every day and one can pick up the loaves hot right out of the oven. That is when bread becomes the "meal" in itself.
Now on to the revelation I experienced in the process of snack preparation. The common hotdog bun is the perfect shape for any food one could choose for sandwich preparation. I came to this thought as a result of running out of hamburger buns a while back and discovered much to my joy that since a hamburger can be made in any shape a hotdog bun would work just fine. They can also be toasted, grilled(best way is inside out), or simply filled to overflowing with coldcuts. That's what I chose for tonight. I also need to remind myself to toss out the reminder of the smoked turkey in the fridge, it seems to be getting slimy. It also did not taste worth a hoot! Maybe a little later I will try something different. I do have some wieners in the fridge that plump up really big in the microwave. When it comes to the "dog" world I am a fan of all of them, too! There are such cool variations on the brat theme, and of course the wieners with cheese inside are great. The Amoco down the street actually has a breakfast dog thing that they say has egg, cheese, sausage(or if one prefers, bacon or ham)ready to be wrapped in a(you guessed it)hotdog bun and then topped with mustard, relish, ketchup and onions. What a way to start the day! And who was it said that we were a long ways from the civilized world out here on the Great American Desert? Chile cheese dogs are another confection that is not complete without the bun. I guess I'm hungry tonight. That is a good sign. It means that I'm actually showing signs of being over the creeping crud that attacked my system last week.
I turned the HD over this morning in preparation for running it tomorrow when the temperature will top 50 degrees. It truly looks as though spring may happen again this year! I've done quite a bit of praying for a break in the bitter cold so that life could get back to a semblance of normality. Out at the "project" workers were finishing the work on the exterior of the addition. As for my honey, she has a few days off this week and if she is feeling well enough we may accomplish a few of the tasks on the new house ourselves. I'm still learning that patience lesson each of us must experience in their own unique way. God's timing is always perfect and mine, as always, is not! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Got Gas? (Part One)

Today I climbed out of bed well ahead of Cheryl. She didn't hit the rack until about 7:30 in the AM. Her schedule has her on overnights at 3M right now. We are in the process of building this fantastic home out in Volga, SD and most of the stuff that has to be done right now can only be done by me. After I get all of the stuff done then I consult with Cheryl to see if she agrees with my thoughts. God designed us to work together in this fashion and who am I to break with tradition? The vehicle is my latest desire. I find it incredibly attractive and would like to own the pictured vehicle. That's just how I'm wired! See it, desire it, get it! Thank God I have a wife with more sense. In this time of increasing gas prices the last thing we need is a vehicle payment. We drive a 1989 Oldsmobile Toronado with a 3.8 litre engine that can exceed 30 miles to the gallon. Then there is the 1995 Pontiac Transport with the same engine that can turn out 28 mpg plus. Needless to say we don't need another vehicle(in addition to the aforementioned there are a couple of Harleys and a '77 Toronado{ANTIQUE LICENSED}and an '03 Eldorado(fantastic engine in there, the Northstar 32 valve get up and spank the pavement edition)so even thinking about another "conveyance" is out of the question. That won't stop me, but at least I know better than open up a dialogue about another vehicle. The thing is, gas is becoming a luxury to have and hold. Worth more than diamonds at this point in time. My friend with the oil leases in North Dakota is ecstatic, but the downside is....we all pay at the pump. Out here on the Great American Desert this poses a number of problems. First we have to get around(doesn't everyone)and second we have gotten used to our ways of living life. We are comfortable with our running about from store to store, business to business, and leaving the car running while we pick up the groceries. Yes, out here we still do that and nobody has had a car taken in years. Change is in the air! Not just me, us, but everyone has an impact on what is going to happen with the increase in gas pricing. If we quit using so much the price will go down. That is the bottom line! If you are following this line of thought you already know that I am correct. So, the new car is out of the question. But what about the people that work on the lines that produce those cars? We continue to live as we always have while the wolf is at the door. America is dependent on "consumerism" and that is where the real change is going to have to take place. If we start now we might see things better in a year or so with someone new in the Whitehouse(God knows them folks don't worry about ponying up cash for a fillup at the Stop & Go). So there must be ways we can make a difference in useage every day. Seriously consider how you can impact the cost of fuel in our country. We can make a difference! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Got Gas?

This the second of a three part post. I'm having trouble with the upload size of my images. Please bear with me, this is important for me to write. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Got Gas?

This is the world in which we live! The circumstances are not reversible! Just like our little dog Snickers, the corporate heads will continue to gorge themselves if we participate until they are sick of gathering the spoils of a declining economy. By the way, they will never tire, but I pray we will. Change is needed. Not at any level other than you and I. We are going to have to change our ways or continue to pay the price for not doing so. Out on the Great American Desert spring thoughts are sounding very bleek amongst the elder farmers gathering at local watering holes. They seem to think that the government needs to put a stop to the economical rape of their business. I doubt if that is forthcoming. I try not to throw cold water on the political end of democrats and republicans, but we are on a slippery slope and there is no way we can go back to the years gone by. Life is going to continue but it has got to change for many of us. Back to sails on my boats. Maybe even a little "scooter" for getting around town instead of the big HD. More walking perhaps and biking with pedals, as well. There is an answer to our current plight! As always "supply and demand" will hold true to their established courses. If we quit using so much prices will decline. That is a fact and the only ones who can make it happen are the people. God bless, Preacher.